


Brothers in War

by IaMcHrIsSi



Series: Children of the fight [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: AU of an AU, Clark has a short cameo but it's really really short so I didn't tag him, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 17:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16814926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IaMcHrIsSi/pseuds/IaMcHrIsSi
Summary: Jason, Cass and Damian ran from the League. In Bludhaven, they run into Dick. Literally.Dick just wanted to get breakfast.





	Brothers in War

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I sit down to finally write that last chapter of We'll be the Warriors of Tomorrow that I promised, and instead watch Titans gifs on tumblr.
> 
> Reading the first part of the story is not required. It'll make understanding this easier, probably, but I think this can stand on it's own. All you need to know is that Jason and Cass met while with the League of Shadows, found Damian being abused by Ra's, and decided to get him out of there. Talia helped them get away and now they're trying to get to Gotham, because Bruce is the only person Jason can think of that the League is scared of enough to leave them alone there. Jason still very much has his canon grievances against Bruce, but he decided that making sure Damian is safe is more important for the moment.
> 
> So, enjoy this AU of my AU!

Dick is on his way to get breakfast when he runs into Jason. Literally.

Well, it's actually Jason who barrels into him, obviously not looking where he's going, almost causing both of them to fall, but well, details.

Point is, Dick woke up, realized that he has no food at home because Gar and Rachel stole the last of it yesterday, decided to go to the nearest bakery and get some food there, and then his dead little brother almost ran him over.

Because that's the sort of thing that happens to him, apparently.

“Jason?” He asks, trying to get his breath back together. Then he shakes his head.

It can't be. Not possible. Because even though Dick has an Amazon and an alien for an aunt and uncle, his life still follows certain rules, and one of those is that dead people stay dead.

Just because this kid looks like Jason doesn't mean it actually is. For one, this guy is at least a head taller than Jason. And his skin looks darker. And there's a white streak in his hair, right at the front. It can't be Jason.

Then the kid speaks.

“I really don't have time for this.” He says, and his voice is deeper, more grown, than Jason's had ever been, but the inflection, the implied eye roll... it's painfully familiar, and that's enough for Dick to grab the kid's hand and stop him from running of.

“What part of I don't have time for this didn't you understand, Dick?” The kid says, and Dick feels like someone kicked him in the gut, like it's two years ago and he had a fight with Jason, like they used to so often. That sentence, in that tone... it can't be anyone but Jason. But it can't be Jason.

Maybe-Jason uses Dick's confusion to twist out of his grasp. He takes off again, running down the street, expertly dodging all civilians.

After half a second, Dick follows.

* * *

He tries to gather his thoughts while running after Maybe-Jason. Dead people don't just... return. They don't. If they did, Bruce would have tried to bring back Jason a long time ago.

But then again, Clark came back. So did Oliver. Why shouldn't Jason?

But why should he? Why now? Why is he older, why didn't he tell Bruce or Alfred? It's not weird that he wouldn't necessarily want to talk to Dick, he admits to himself with a grimace, dodging an elderly lady with her dog. They hadn't been close, and Dick had been an asshole to him for most of the time they knew each other. But Bruce? Alfred? Jason had loved them. More than anything.

And how come he's not still in his grave? Bruce put security on that coffin. Dick remembers reading the file on it and almost retching, because what was Bruce expecting to happen? But if this is Jason, how come nobody noticed that super tech coffin got broken into?

Or did that never happen? What if Jason is still in his grave, resting peacefully, and Dick is just seeing things?

At least that he can actually check rather quickly, he realizes. He gets out his phone, fumbles a bit as he follows Jason around a tight corner, and then he dials the 4 on his speed dial.

“Hello Dick.” Clark greets after the second ring, sounding friendly and calm. He starts to say something else, but Dick cuts him off.

“I need you to go to Jason's grave. I need you to check if he's still in there.” He pants, mentally cursing Maybe-Jason for being so damned fast. He used to be able to catch Jason, he remembers, and he's just as fit as he was two years ago.

“What are you...?” Clark asks, all levity gone from his voice. Dick understands why Clark would be worried, but he doesn't have time for questions.

“Just do it. I'll explain later.” He says, jumping at the last second to avoid a toddler.

There's a whooshing noise from his phone, which means that Clark is flying fast. Good. Dick needs to know. He needs some facts.

Then, a gasp. Dick almost doesn't hear it over the shouting of a some bystanders who got shoved out of the way by Maybe-Jason.

“Dick.” Clark says, sounding breathless. Dick swallows. If Jason was still in his grave, then Clark wouldn't sound like this. Sad, sure, sorry, yes, maybe even angry. But not shocked. Not terrified.

Still. He needs to hear it. He needs Clark to say it.

“The grave is empty.”

* * *

He looses sight of Maybe-Jason for a few seconds. Which is almost a good thing, because it distracts him from the fact that Jason's grave is empty, all of Bruce's security failed, and Maybe-Jason might actually be Jason.

The he skids around the last corner, and finds Maybe-Jason fighting a few men. League of Shadows, the analytical part of his mind supplies, possibly Ra's personal guard going by the uniform and skill displayed. They're known to slightly worry Bruce.

Maybe-Jason doesn't seem worried, though. He fights. And how he fights. Dick swallows, and slows down for a second. Jason was good. He was, he was strong and clever and determinated and trained by Bruce himself. Jason Todd was good.

But he was never this good. This is... beyond anything Jason was capable of. This is fast and nasty and brutal. This is fighting the League's assassins with the League's own style, augmented with some moves Dick recognizes as taught by Bruce.

Why does Jason fight like he's been trained by the League of Shadows?

Why does he fight Ra's personal guard?

But there's no time for questions. Maybe-Jason's good, but well, if Dick is there already, he might as well fight some assassins. At least there he sort of knows where he stands.

Finally, he reaches Maybe-Jason and the assassins. He uses his momentum to sweep the legs out from the first assassin, ducking under a knife and punching the one that's fighting Maybe-Jason in the shoulder, making him drop the knife.

Maybe-Jason reacts quickly, maybe instinctively, adjusting his aim and knocking his attacker out, before kicking the one Dick downed in the neck and twisting around to face another assassin.

It's worrying, how well they work together, Dick thinks, as Maybe-Jason drops out of the way of Dick's swing without missing a beat. Bruce always insisted that they should be able to do it, him and Jason, fight together at a second's notice, and they'd trained for it, but in the end it had happened only very rarely.

And then Jason died.

And yet, here they are, Dick and a guy that might just be Jason.

“Did you seriously follow me?” Maybe-Jason asks, sounding just a little bit out of breath. Dick stops himself from grinning. Not just him then.

“Of course I did?” Dick says. Looking at the guy, if feels almost impossible to think it might not be Jason. He looks like Jason. He talks like Jason, including the Narrows accent that he'd never quiet lost, no matter how much time he'd spend in the posh school Bruce insisted on. He even rolls his eyes like Jason.

And Jason's grave is empty.

“Where have you been? Why are you fighting League assassins? What happened to you?” He asks, feeling different emotions spill through his stomach. Sadness, hope, terror, annoyance, joy, guilt. All mixed up in each other and weighing him down.

“I told you, I don't have time for this.” Jason - and he has to be Jason, he just has to be – says, but he doesn't run of again, either. Instead he starts filching through one of the downed assassins pockets.

“I'm not leaving.” Dick says, staring at Jason. Jason glares back.

“You were dead. You are my brother and you were dead and now you're not anymore. I am _not_ leaving you again.” He says, enunciating each word carefully.

“Now you think we're brothers?” Jason mutters, but some of the anger leaves his eyes. “I'm not waiting for you, though. I've got things to do.”

Dick takes the victory.

* * *

Jason leads them through the dirtier parts of Bludhaven. Dick is quite familiar with these corners of the city through his night job, but he refrains from commenting.

“I don't think the League is expecting you to interfere.” Jason says after a while, seemingly out of nowhere. Dick thinks he might actually mean that _Jason_ wasn't expecting him to intervene, which hurts, but offers a chance for some conversation.

“What did you do to piss of Ra's?” He asks, aiming for casual. He probably misses by like, a mile, but Jason doesn't call him out on it.

“I might have sort of kidnapped his grandson.”

“... What?!?” Dick asks, and Jason has the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“I don't know. Does it count as kidnapping if the mother agreed to it? Because Talia was okay with me taking Damian and getting the hell out of Nanda Parbat, it's just the old demon that isn't.”

“Why did you take the kid from Nanda Parbat?” Dick asks. _Why were_ you _in Nanda Parbat in the first place_ , he wants to ask.

“'Cause old Ra's was abusing him. Like, really, really badly. Couldn't exactly just let that happen, you know?” He sounds like the boy Dick remembers. Like the abused kid who never wanted that to happen to anyone else ever again.

“Where is the kid? Damian?” Dick asks, trying to keep the conversation alive. If Jason was in Nanda Parbat... the League has Lazarus Pits. Bruce thought about doing that to Jason. Dick remembers that fight. He remembers arguing fiercely against it because those Pits cause insanity.

But Jason doesn't seem insane. Worried. Scared. Angry. But not insane.

“We got separated. I told him and Cass to meet me in three hours near the bus station. The idea was to lead the League away.”

“Who's Cass?” Dick asks. Time with the League would also explain Jason's new fighting style. That fluidity in the movements, that brutality... it fits with the League. It fits with how they fight.

“Cass is a friend. A girl from Nanda Parbat. We decided to leave together. She should be able to keep Damian out of trouble for a bit.” There's a fondness in Jason's voice that makes Dick smile.

“Okay. Three hours. Any plans?”

* * *

They go to Dick's flat. Dick argued successfully that the League already knows that he's involved, and would therefore expect them to rest there, which would help with drawing their attention away from Jason's friends.

He heartily curses the fact that he still doesn't have any food, and ends up offering a disbelieving Jason some orange juice.

“What are you going to do? After today.” He asks, careful not to spook Jason. Jason is pacing, looking like Bruce on a bad day, obviously worrying about his friends. He also hasn't once asked Dick for help, or called Bruce or Alfred or anything.

He doesn't really appear to be interested in going home at all, which doesn't make any sense. And there is that small matter of him having died.

“We're on the way to Gotham.” Jason says, sounding... exhausted. And angry. “Don't worry, I'm not really expecting much of Bruce. He's kind of proving what he thinks of me. But he's pretty much the only person the League fears enough to leave us alone, and according to Talia he's Damian's father, so there's that.” There's a bitter taste in Jason's voice, like betrayal, like pain, and for a moment Dick can't breathe.

“What do you mean you don't expect much of Bruce? Bruce will be thrilled to have you back! He hasn't been the same since you died!” Understatement of the year, but there's no need to bring back those memories right now.

“Yeah?” Jason says sharply, turning around to glare at Dick. “'Cause, you know, there was a new Robin not even six months after my death. And the Joker is still running around like nothing at all happened. And _nobody noticed me crawling out of my own damned grave!”_ He shouts the last sentence, and Dick wants to retch, he wants to disappear, he wants to...

He doesn't actually know what he wants to do. Crawled out of his own grave, how does that even happen? But it would explain why none of Bruce's alarms got triggered. Those were only ever targeted at people breaking into the coffin. Not out of it.

But.... crawled out of his own grave. How would that not have been discovered? Bruce visits Jason's grave, so does Alfred. Dick, too, when he's in town. If someone had... _dug himself out of it_... that would not have been missed.

But the grave is empty. Clark was sure of that.

Jason is still breathing heavily, his body tense. He looks old, like this, old and dangerous and spend, in a way that reminds Dick of Bruce at his worst. But Jason isn't old. He's seventeen. Probably. Dick shakes his head and goes to hug his brother.

Jason doesn't move, doesn't breathe, for a moment, clearly surprised. Which he shouldn't be. Dick is known to be someone who hugs liberally. Jason has to remember that. Right?

“I'm sorry.” He murmurs into Jason's shoulder, once again shocked by how tall Jason is now. He's not sure what to say about Jason's accusations towards Bruce, not when Dick thinks the same sometimes, but he can apologize for having been a shit brother.

“I'm sorry for being an asshole. And I'm sorry that I didn't know.” It appears to be the right thing to say. Jason relaxes a bit, and he breathes again.

After a few minutes, Dick lets go. Jason looks calmer than before, which is good, and younger. Damn it, he's only got two years on Tim. He's a kid. A kid that Dick doesn't really know.

“So, Talia and Bruce?” He says, trying to lighten the mood.

“Don't make me think about it.” Jason says, grimacing slightly. “Talia says so, and when you watch Damian, there's definitively some similarities.” He rubs his hair.

“B has always had a terrible taste in women.” Dick says, and then bites his lip. Maybe talking about Bruce is not such a good idea, if Jason has such strong feelings about the man.

Jason, however, snorts.

“Remember Vicky Vale? Harpy, that woman.” Dick grins, and Jason does, too.

“Though Talia's actually not that bad. Like, she's League, but she's been good to me. And she helped Cass and me get Damian out.”

Dick bites his lip. Talia. Resurrecting Jason would totally be something she'd do, just to get at Bruce. And Jason has always wanted a mother.

“And there's Selina.” Jason says, apparently not having noticed Dick's mixed feelings. Dick is glad of it.

“Selina is awesome.” He says, happy to switch over to a safer topic.

“Totally awesome.”

* * *

Dick's phone pings half an hour later, while Jason is in the bathroom.

 _What is going on?_ It reads, send by Clark.

 _Not sure. Will explain later_. Dick writes back, wondering whether he should ask Clark to come. It's tempting, to get the man here and be able to rely on him dealing with things, but... Jason is Dick's little brother. And Jason, the person who's in Dick's flat right now, would run for the hills if Superman were to show up.

 _Are you okay?_ Appears half a second later.

 _Not sure._ Dick types. Closes his eyes. _Don't call Bruce yet._

The toilet flushes, and Dick quickly puts the phone away.

* * *

Three hours later, they go to the bus station. Jason looked like he was thinking about ditching Dick on the way there, but Dick knows where Jason wanted to meet his friends, so that was out.

For a moment, Jason seems insecure, worried, then he starts walking towards a girl and boy. The girl is approximately Jason's age, but tiny. She looks nice, but there's a wariness to her. She looks like someone who could take Dick down in a heart beat.

The boy is maybe eight or nine, but holds himself very upright. He glares at everyone. He's probably going for 'above everyone', but all Dick sees is a scared kid.

When they see Jason, he sees the relief in both their faces. The girl quickly moves to hug Jason, and he melts into her arms in a way he's never done with Dick. Then Jason leans down to hug the boy, who hesitates for half a second before putting his arms around Jason's neck.

Then the girl taps at Jason's arm, looking pointedly at Dick. He takes it as a sign to step closer.

“Guys, this is Dick Grayson. Dick, this is Cass and Damian.” Jason says, and Dick is subjected to a very taxing glare from the boy and a curious but calculating look from the girl.

“Hi.” He says, waving his hand and trying to look as non threatening as possible. The girl relaxes a bit, but the boy just continues glaring.

“What is he doing here?” The boy says, the sharp English accent a shock.

“He insists on helping. As much as it can be called helping.” Jason says, but there's no real bite to it. Dick smiles.

“I'm Jason's older brother, and I'm trying to help.” He says, and that's when he sees a League assassin. Jason sees the guy too, and then they're running. Again. Because Dick hasn't run enough today.

They end up in Dick's apartment again, out of breath and kind of pissed.

“What are we going to do now?” The kid, Damian, asks, and he looks so much like Bruce in that moment that Dick kind of wants to sit down. So much for doubt in the kid's parentage. There will need to be a DNA test, of course, just like there will need to be a DNA test for Jason, but Dick is pretty sure he already knows what the results will be.

“No bus.” The girl says, and then she moves her hand in a way that Dick is pretty sure is sign language. He should have learned sign language at some point, Dick thinks, but Jason clearly understands Cass.

“We'll figure out another way to get to Gotham. We got this far, guys, no way they'll get us now!” Jason says, smiling at Cass and Damian. Cass smiles back, and Damian's glare at least looses some of it's intensity.

“I have a car.” Dick says, and all three of them are looking at him. “I can drive you there.” And he can also make sure that Bruce is not an asshole about meeting Jason and a new biological kid he didn't know about, he doesn't say, but he thinks Jason at least gets it.

“Don't feel obligated.” Jason says sharply.

“What part of I'm not leaving you again didn't you understand?” Dick asks with a grin.

Jason shakes his head, but Dick thinks he's hiding a smile, and Cass is openly smiling at him. Even Damian is looking more curious than angry.

They're not safe yet. And there are still many open questions. And Bruce is probably going to be a huge asshole, and Jason is clearly pissed at Bruce, and none of that will be solved quickly. And he doesn't even want to think about what will happen once Jason meets Tim.

But Dick's little brother is alive.

He's _alive_.

**Author's Note:**

> Dick believes that Jason is actually Jason much quicker then Bruce would because Dick interacts with people very differently. He interacts with them on personal relationship level, and Jason actually acts like Jason. Like, there's no good reason to fake being Jason, and it's pretty much impossible to fake being a person to people who knew that person, so Dick is willing to take a chance, especially since he knows Jason's grave is empty.
> 
> I'm also sorry that there's not that much Damian and Cass in this one, they refused to be let into the scenes where Jason and Dick bonded.
> 
> Much of this fic contains ideas I was originally going to use in We'll be the Warriors of tomorrow, by the way, but they didn't work (and I still can't make the final chapter work) so I figured I might as well put them somewhere they do work.


End file.
